The evolution of messaging has come quite a long way since the days of writing letters and waiting weeks or months for a response. The first text message was sent in 1992 while some of us were too busy waiting to be born or actually being born.
Since then, we have progressed from the struggles of texting with T9word, where we would press the "7" four times before we can get the "S" we so desperately wanted to add to our words.
To QWERTY keyboards in 2004, which made texting little faster.
Sending and receiving texts became way easier when we were introduced to the iPhone in 2007 with touchscreen capability and super simple OS. Apple doubled down and made messaging even better when it introduced iMessage in 2011.
Or did it get worse?
For those of you who don't know what iMessage is, it is an iPhone-exclusive messaging system which allows quick iPhone-to-iPhone communication -- And the messaging is blue instead of green. Most of us want to be blue -- not green. Anyways, not only does iMessage allow the receiver to know when you're typing (creepy), but just when you thought it couldn't get any creepier, it also allows you to have the option to allow people to know when you read the text!
I know, I know. This topic is so 2011. However, we can't pretend that iMessage isn't used strategically to ruin people's life, or perhaps, reinforce a comfort in those who keep their boyfriends or girlfriends on a tight leash.
Here are a few things of which to be aware when deciding to turn on your read receipts in iMessage:
You'll be in public when you see he / she "read" it and didn't reply, but you have to remain strong.
They will raise your blood pressure faster than anything.
You will be heavily criticized for the moment you don't reply.
They are used as a weapon to blatantly ignore someone and it feels so good.
They are used to overanalyze and cause us to become psychos.
I know what time you got off work, and I know what time you read it! What are you doing behind my back?
You can't look at any of your texts because you're afraid you'll accidentally "read" the one that you're avoiding.
There will be that one person who continually turns them on and off and causes you to question their motives.
They reveal your psycho side.
Yep. I don't care if you read it while you were performing open-heart surgery on someone, you owe me a response now or else I won't have any plans tonight.
The moment you see them typing and your read receipts are on.
They give you power.
You can be the one to purposely "read" the text to upset the receiver. Why not? He deserves it!
They leave you powerless.
What can you do? Will you be that person to double text? Sorry. You just have to wait for them to reply to avoid looking desperate.
Yeah, iMessage read receipts can be purposeful. However, I have witnessed the most emotionally structured people become the one who falls to pieces on the floor because of the stress of iMessage read receipts. But I will leave it to you to decide if you should take your phone right now, and turn then on, turn them off, or be that person who continually does both.
